Socialization on the Promenade ( Port of Spain)

(Photo Reference: Neils.2015. Blog Assignment -  An Intro to Urban Geography )

Brian Lara Promenade is ideally a place in which all of the masses converge as they make their way into the city of Port of Spain. Hence this area is a synonymous social hub, an open space within the complex urban zone  that allows for socialization. Here another facet of an urban place is displayed.This photo above epitomizes this facet,  showcasing a group of gentlemen as they share this space together on a Saturday morning, utilizing the calm atmosphere before the city begins awakening with life and the bustle of commuters and pedestrians, as they welcomed their documentation and involvement in this commentary.

We are introduced to another class of persons ( socio- economic class)  and the way in which they utilize the urban place. We can assume that these are middle class senior citizens and this may reflected the way they choose to use the urban  space, as a social gathering on a Saturday morning, in a more isolated area of the city that allows for a serene atmosphere.

Such spaces and their uses are directly tied to Urban Geography in its analysis of urban spaces. Open spaces can be assessed under the theories of Banerjee ( The Future of Public Spaces, Banerjee 2001). With contemporary trends of globalization, urbanization and the resulting modernization within societies, the value of public spaces as stated have deteriorated as city scapes  no longer hold open spaces in high regard due to public needs and demands.

This brings forth the question of the public’s regard for open spaces in Trinidad’s capital of Port of Spain. Are these spaces truly utilized and appreciated ? Are they just spaces that persons move through in the motions of their daily routines ? Or are they accepted as transient zones ? In the place of Brian Lara Promenade and the atmosphere of Independence Square, as well as Woodford Square, not too far away, this may not be the case for those who are familiar with its historical significance to the country’s political and colonial history. On this basis of assumption, we can look at this public space from the perspective of those who typically dwell here by choice, and as a means of  a social gathering ( as pictured above) that they recognize this significance as they are present and embracing.

The shift of public lifestyles through concepts of globalization , changing in ideals in social value shape public spaces and the future demands . With the inclusion of increased cultural erosion and public vs private land, urban landscapes are becoming increasingly chaotic and transient in their growth.The priority of planners in the future will hold no value to the social appreciations of the past as they indulge in a capitalistic frame of mind.

In Amanda Bruden's " How Public Spaces Make Cities Work" for TED Talks, the New York based Urban Planner professes her passion for tiny pocket parks in New York City, and indulges viewers on why they make the ever growing city more livable through examples such as her involvement in the development of Manhattan water front parks and New York's ever popular 1.45 mile long elevated railway park ; The Highline.

She questions in the essence of the chaos of an urban place : How do you turn a park into a place that people want to be?

In her closing statement she ties the public space to the urban space, in a way that all urban planners should heed for future development :

  

" No matter how popular and successful a public space may be, it can never be taken for granted. Public spaces always need virulent champions, not only to claim them at the outset for public use, but to design them for the people that use them, then to maintain them to ensure that they are for everyone ; that they are not violated, invaded, abandoned or ignored.

If there's any one lesson that I have learned in my life is a city planner,it is that public spaces have power; it's not just a number of people using them, its the even greater number of people who feel better about their city just knowing that they are there. Public space can change how you live in a city, how you feel about a city,  whether you choose one city over another.Public spaces are one of the most important reasons why you stay in a city.

I believe that a successful city is like a fabulous party, people stay because they're having a great time. "

Disparity & Urban Lifesyles (Port of Spain)

(Photo Reference: Phang 2015. Blog Assignment - An Intro to Urban Geography)


The disparity of those who could afford to commute on a daily basis into the city, and those who live on the fringes as the only means of sustaining life is striking.

The Urban place is usually characterized by a central business district which has given it its form and can account for its urban network.The Central business district can also account for all outlying land use and settlement surrounding the urban place.It is responsible for how the city had taken its form.Urban Geographers are more than familiar with the concentric model of Burgees, who in his theory sought to account for the spread and plan of a city around its central business district.A city or any urban hob is formed by the activities and opportunities provided by what these business districts supply.

While Burgees' model was simplified, clear cut in its concentric rings and far too distinct to apply to the urban systems of cities today, it is still very much relevant in the case of urban development, especially since it has encouraged and given way to theories that have refined it. Burgees Model of Concentric Zones, Hoytt's Sector Model , as well as The Multi-Nuclei Model of Ullman and Harris are all used in comparisons within urban land use modeling.The aborigines of city forms date back to pre-industrial times, and were mainly reinforced by security, religion as well routes of transportation and communication, mainly for trade. Evidence of these are still prevalent in many spaces, although the concentrations of city forms have varies.

The increasing growth and urbanization of cities is particular driven by rural to urban migration.As analyzed by many geographers, for example Pooley's case on Residential Mobility in the Victorian City (Pooley, 1879) urbanization is built on the concepts of mobility,more so that of long distance mobility. This is very distinct in the spacial layout of Port of Spain and environs, where the picture above has been taken.The outskirts and fringes of the city are inhibited by the lower class, who have undergone this type of mobility to access the city and its resources ; a better way of life by seeking out employment opportunities is one of the most popular in this long term mobility.

As the Cental Business District, Port of Spain is frequented with the heavy workday traffic as commuters go in and out of transit, from home to work on a daily basis. The disparity pictured above exists because of the circumstances of an urban place. We can observe that a car is pictured, bearing the brand in which is expected of an affluent person to own, in a part of the city in which "belongs" to the lower class, near a square that is the home to many of the homeless , east of the  main placemarks of the city.

No Parking! ( Chaguanas )

This blog seeks to explore how people of different socio-economic status survive in urban areas within the island of Trinidad. Urban relates to towns and cities. Survive in this context mean how those who exist whether wholly or partially within an urban setting cope with the hardships that are synonymous with urban areas. Socio-economic status (SES) is defined as “an individual’s or group’s position within a hierarchical social structure. It depends on a combination of variables, including occupation, education, income, wealth, and place of residence. Sociologists often use socioeconomic status as a means of predicting behaviour.” (Dictionary.com)

 

(Photo Reference: Neils 2015. Blog Assignment - An Intro to Urban Geography)

What do you see when you look at the picture above? A street with no cars, electrical wire posts and light poles, a wall, behind it trees and a peek at Centre City Mall, Chaguanas. Almost at the very centre of the photo are two grocery trolleys covered in tarpaulin which are tied by ropes, further covered by a sheet of galvanize and a thin piece of wood. Next to it is a fold in chair. What you don’t see is the owner of the trolleys. The trolleys belong to a man who’s home are the streets. His age, how he ended up there, what’s contained within the trolleys are all unknown just like the people we see while we ourselves walk the streets of Urban Trinidad.   

A city is characterize by its population size, economic base, administrative criteria and functional definitions, as well as its social and cultural milieu. There are urban places that feel like a city but are not, as they lack the administrative criteria i.e. it is not legally defined as a city. The three urban areas to be examined consist of Port-of-Spain (which fulfills the administrative criteria)  and Chaguanas which does not. On the other hand, the city lifestyle is present alongside service provision and the population in which these services are made available to. By administration Chaguanas, in which is central in its locale, is a borough.

Homelessness is very much evident in the urban setting.It is integrated into the socio-economic workings of the society.The homeless are a body that cannot be excluded when analyzing a metropolitan place.The homeless, like several other socio-economic groups flock to such spaces in an attempt to survive.Hence in  representing Survival in Urban Trinidad, the homeless cannot be eliminated.They are a quintessential element in what it means to truly surviving the urban place.